There are two separate, discrete ore bodies that make up the operations, Jacinth and Ambrosia. Atacama will be operated as a satellite deposit to Jacinth-Ambrosia open pits.
Atacama will be mined as an open pit operation and will be mined from four discrete open cut pits (central, western, eastern and southern. Approximately 185 Mt of overburden and 25 Mt of ore will be mined, providing approximately 4.1 Mt of Heavy Mineral Concentrate (HMC). At Atacama, mineral sand ore will be transported via truck to a run of mine (ROM) stockpile adjacent to the associated pit(s) on the proposed Atacama ML.
To allow for maximum flexibility between the tenements (once the Atacama ML is granted) the Jacinth-Ambrosia and Atacama Projects will be managed as one operation.
Jacinth and Ambrosia
In order to access the target ore, topsoil, subsoil and overburden are removed. These are typically removed using a combination of excavators, haul trucks and tractor scoops and are either stockpiled or direct-returned to the mine void pending final surface rehabilitation.
Dry mining techniques are used for recovery of the ore. The sand, containing heavy minerals, is fed into the Mining Unit Plant (MUP) to remove oversized material, including rock and other debris, before being slurry pumped to the Wet Concentrator Plant (WCP).
Mining of the Jacinth and Ambrosia deposits is undertaken as a continuous operation with mining and processing operatio ........